Defence Budget

The  previous Secretary of State for Defence implied, only a year ago, that there will be no new military operations any time soon.  That sent entirely the wrong message to our armed forces, allies and potential adversaries.  No matter, with no clearly defined foreign policy (but a great deal of arm-waving) that little detail could be brushed under the carpet. Indeed, that was last year, of course, before we decided to boost our presence in Iraq this year. In other circumstances, the premise of no more foreign wars would have been the perfect backdrop from which to retreat from lofty promises on defence funding.  As it is, the bean counters in SW1 are obliged to construct the cost-cutting SRSR 2015 behind closed doors.

It would seem logical to preface any review of defence and security with an assessment of just what Britain's place in the world is perceived to be the threats to that status. This would form the "National Security Strategy" from which, logically, the appropriate defence posture could be defined. Detail such as capability, readiness, sustainability etc would all be readily understood, by citizens, politicians and the Armed Forces themselves, as a result.

If foreign policy ambition is not matched by adequate defence resources then we need to change foreign policy.